Jack Del Rio, Jr is born on April 3, 1963 in Castro Valley, California. Jack and his wife, Linda, live in Jacksonville, and have three daughters, Lauren, Hope, and Aubrey, and a son, Luke. Four-year starter at linebacker from 1981-84 at Southern California, where he earned consensus All-America honors as a senior and was runner-up for the Lombardi Award. He was co-MVP of the 1985 Rose Bowl. Drafted by baseball’s Toronto Blue Jays in 1981, Del Rio batted .340 while playing catcher on USC’s baseball team. He has a political science degree from Kansas. He was an American football player and has a career record of 14-18 in the NFL and has parlayed that into a coaching career.

Jack Del Rio an 11-year NFL veteran, was a third-round draft choice by the New Orleans Saints in 1985. He was named to the NFL’s All-Rookie team and earned the Saints’ Rookie of the Year award in 1985. Following two seasons in New Orleans, Del Rio played for the Kansas City Chiefs (1987-88), Dallas Cowboys (1989-91) and Minnesota Vikings (1992-95). He led the Vikings in tackles three straight years (1992-94) and played in the Pro Bowl following the 1994 season. During his career, Del Rio started more than 100 consecutive games. He went to the playoffs once with the Cowboys and three times with the Vikings.

An All-American linebacker at the University of Southern California, Del Rio was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the 3rd round of the 1985 draft. His 11-year career was spent between the Saints (1985-1986), the Kansas City Chiefs (1987-1988), Dallas Cowboys (1989-1991), and Minnesota Vikings (1992-1995). He played in the 1994 Pro Bowl. Signed by the Miami Dolphins before the 1996 season, Del Rio retired when he lost his job to rookie Zach Thomas.

Del Rio was a four-year starter from 1981 to ’84 at Southern California, where he earned consensus All-America honors as a senior and was runner-up for the Lombardi Award. The Trojans were 30-15-1 during his four seasons, three times ranked among the top 15 teams in the country. He played in the 1982 Fiesta Bowl and was co-MVP of the 1985 Rose Bowl. Drafted out of high school by the Toronto Blue Jays in 1981, Del Rio batted .340 while playing catcher on Southern California’s baseball team in 1983 and ’84. He was a teammate of current Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Randy Johnson and former major league slugger Mark McGwire.

At 42, Del Rio is the second-youngest head coach in the NFL, just four months older than Tampa Bay's Jon Gruden. He has played for, coached with, and learned from some of the best coaches in all of football. He was recruited to play at Southern California by John Robinson, and in the NFL he played under Bum Phillips, Jim Mora, Frank Gansz, Jimmy Johnson and Dennis Green. Among other notable coaches he teamed with during his 11-year playing career are Dom Capers, Dave Campo, Dave Wannstedt, Tony Dungy, Monte Kiffin, Tom Moore, Norv Turner, Butch Davis and Mike Tice. As an assistant coach for six seasons, Del Rio worked on the staffs of Hall of Famer Mike Ditka, Super Bowl winner Brian Billick, and Super Bowl participant John Fox. Among those he was on coaching staffs with are Marvin Lewis and Mike Nolan.

Del Rio began his coaching career with the New Orleans Saints in 1997. In 1999, he accepted a position with the Baltimore Ravens as their linebackers coach. After the 2001 season, he was named defensive coordinator of the Carolina Panthers.

In 2003, Del Rio became the 2nd head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars and has led the team to its first playoff appearance since 1999. At 42, Del Rio is the second-youngest head coach in the NFL (Jon Gruden is the youngest).